


where the roads end

by zarahjoyce



Category: Mahou Sentai Magiranger, Super Sentai - Fandom, Tokusatsu
Genre: AU of Stage 47, F/M, Gen, I'm obsessed and I can't stop, aka Hikaru didn't propose then, uwu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25243390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarahjoyce/pseuds/zarahjoyce
Summary: "Sungel," Snowgel calls him, sounding impatient. "What is it thatyouwant to do?""I--"He watches her laugh with her siblings - and releases the breath he was holding in.With N Ma defeated - and with both parents alive and well - there was no need for them to have a magic teacher. Which means----he was no longer neededhere.-A rewrite of Stage 47 onward where Hikaru's concerned because idk, reasons.
Relationships: Hikaru/Ozu Urara
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	where the roads end

**1.** "My lessons," Sungel says, trying to keep himself sounding cheery, somehow, "end here."  
  
There's so many things he want to tell her, however. How happy he'd been here on the Surface World. How accepted he felt, as part of the team. How much he yearned, to become part of _this_ family.  
  
How much he wanted more time - and be able to spend it with _her_.  
  
But that's... no longer possible, isn't it?  
  
"Take care of yourself," he adds, contenting himself with patting her head. As if it had a mind of its own, however, his hand moves down to gently cup her cheek. "Urara."  
  
_"Please_ come back to us, Hikaru-sensei," she cries, covering his hand with her own. "Please come back home?"  
  
Sungel doesn't answer.  
  
Nor does he look back as he leaves, for if he did--  
  
No. _No._  
  
It's better not to get _too_ attached, after all.  
  
Not when his end is so near.  
  
_Goodbye._  
  
  
  
**2.** The chaos that he encounters in Magitopia renders him absolutely speechless.  
  
There was nothing left. He doesn't know _how_ it happened; just that everything was left ruined, everything was left broken, everything was--  
  
_"Magiel!"_ he yells, hoping against hope that he isn't too late. _"Lunagel!"_  
  
The scream that he hears--  
  
He arrives in time to see N Ma disappear, so soon after defeating Magiel.  
  
After vanquishing the _most powerful of the Heavenly Saints_.   
  
"No," he cries, falling down to his knees. _"No!"  
  
_Too late.  
  
He was _too late._  
  
  
  
**3.** "Sungel."  
  
He looks behind him to find Blagel with his weapons already drawn out.  
  
"There's no one left," Sungel rushes to tell him - as if trying to make his teacher believe that _he_ isn't useless, after all. "I tried finding anyone to save, but--"  
  
"We have to end this now," Blagel says, sounding resolute. He places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. "For everyone's sake."  
  
He nods in acquiescence.  
  
If they do end N Ma _here_ , then those living at the Surface World will be saved.  
  
It would mean that the Five Magicians would no longer need to fight him.  
  
Even if it entails him _dying_ in the process _.  
  
Courage, _he thinks, summoning any and all he's learned from the Ozu Wizards.  
  
_For everyone.  
  
For _her. _  
  
_"I'm ready," he says - while wishing he _i_ _s._ _  
  
  
  
_**4.** Too powerful. N Ma is _too_ powerful, and now--  
  
He falls on his back, having been dealt a killing blow. From somewhere behind him, Blagel yells his name.  
  
Oddly enough, the next few seconds that follow are blissfully... _still_. His mind races, trying to make sense of all that's happening - and yet his body absolutely refuses to move.  
  
_This is it._ His breath hitches, and it takes everything in him to catch the next one. _My vision... has come to pass.  
_  
For the last time, he tries to imagine the Surface World's wonderful skies. Its calming seas. The feeling of joy - and laughing alongside the Ozu family.  
  
Of her kindness and smile, whenever she directs them at _him._  
  
_Urara.  
  
__Urara._ _  
  
__Urar--_   
  
  
  
**5.** Next thing he knows, he feels himself lying on a floor jagged and rough. He opens his eyes, finding himself-- without pain. Breathing.   
  
_Alive.  
  
_He rises to his feet. The blue skies above him give him pause, because he knew he was in Magitopia last, and yet now--  
  
_"Hikaru-sensei!"_  
  
\--that voice!  
  
He turns to find her running towards him. Opening his arms had never felt easier; he soon catches her form, and instinctively he curls himself around her.  
  
They are alive. They are _both_ alive. How--? Perhaps it means her father has defeated N Ma? Perhaps it means--  
  
"--Urara?" he says, half-believing he's only hallucinating her, somewhat. But she feels too warm, too _solid_ to be a dream. "I'm--"  
  
"You're alive," she whispers, tightening her hold. "You're alive, thank goodness. I thought--"  
  
He pulls away from her. "What happened?"  
  
"I'll explain later," she says, smiling brilliantly up at him. "But right now, we _have_ to defeat N Ma."  
  
Only then does he look beyond her - to see Lunagel, and Snowgel, and Hades God Sphinx and Vancuria and--  
  
\--N Ma himself, standing just a few feet away from them.  
  
"We will," he says, cupping her face. "We will."  
  
Everything else can wait _after_ that.  
  
  
**  
6.** "We'll all create a new future - together."  
  
He looks at each of his students - all grown from fledgling magicians into wizards of infinite magic - and feels immensely proud to have known and worked with them.  
  
"The Surface World, Magitopia, even Infershia have been saved," Snowgel says. "Who knew _this_ would be possible? That we'd all live to see it happen?"   
  
"All thanks to _them_ ," Lunagel says, sounding just as fond. "Our last and greatest hope."  
  
"They _are_ Blagel's children after all," he adds, linking his hands behind his back. "It's very fitting."  
  
Lunagel turns to him and nods, smiling.  
  
"Now, let us return to Magitopia," Snowgel beckons them. "Sungel, Lunagel. Come; Magiel is waiting. There is much to be done." She then reverts to her infant form but doesn't yet leave - as if waiting for the other two to go with her.  
  
_Already?_ he thinks, looking back at the five magicians... at _her._ "But--"  
  
Lunagel places a hand on his arm. As if understanding his predicament, she asks gently, "Would you like to say goodbye?"   
  
He wants to say _yes_ , he does.   
  
Wants to ask Snowgel if he can postpone returning to Magitopia.   
  
Wants to ask her if he can just stay _here.  
  
_"Sungel," Snowgel calls him, sounding impatient. "What is it that _you_ want to do?"  
  
"I--"  
  
He watches her laugh with her siblings - and releases the breath he was holding in.  
  
With N Ma defeated - and with both parents alive and well - there was no need for them to have a magic teacher. Which means--  
  
\--he was no longer needed _here.  
  
_The thought makes him more miserable than he ever thought possible.  
  
Shaking his head at Lunagel, he turns to Snowgel and says, resolutely: "Let's go."  
  
  
  
**7.** Rebuilding Magitopia takes some time - and yet, with the help of Flagel, Volgel, Splagel, Wingel, and Groungel, it soon reverts to its glorious form.  
  
He should be happy, he thinks. Or at least, _happier_. Without the threat of N Ma, he's now free to pursue ventures that can be beneficial for his own sake. If Snowgel's words _were_ true, then he can now work his way into becoming the next Arch Saint - an impossible dream before.  
  
The problem was, there's a hollowness inside his chest that he cannot ignore - something that makes him feel as though _everything_ he does here is all... meaningless. Joyless, in the end.  
  
_"Sungel,"_ Lunagel sighs, lowering her staff and all but glaring at him. "You're not listening."  
  
"I apologize," he replies quickly - even automatically. "I was--"  
  
"Distracted," she cuts in - blunt as always. "Like you've been ever since our return."  
  
He doesn't refute her words.   
  
"I do wonder," Lunagel says, "why would you bother coming back to Magitopia when it's obvious your heart's no longer here?"  
  
He gapes at her. "I--"  
  
She peers closer at him and adds, "Going back to the Surface World... _is_ what you want to do, don't you?"  
  
Yes. _Yes._  
  
"But--" he starts saying. "What would Snowgel and Magiel say?"  
  
"Why?" she asks back. "It isn't like you can't ever return here, can you?" After a pause, she adds, "You've done a lot for Magitopia. You deserve to do what _you_ want now."  
  
"Lunagel--"  
  
"I'll explain your situation to them, should they look for you." Lunagel gives him a push. "Now go and be a bother elsewhere."  
  
He grins at her - and she grins right back at him.  
_  
Thank you._  
  
  
  
**8.** _"--Sungel?"_  
  
Blagel frowns at him. "Is there something wrong? How _is_ Magitopia?"  
  
_Of course_ his sudden arrival _can_ be construed as a signal of trouble. Perhaps he should have given word about his coming; had he been thinking straight, he _might_ have. "Everything's fine. I'm happy to say that Magitopia is as good as it once was."  
  
"That's good," Miyuki-san says, placing a hand on her husband's arm. "Then there's no need to be worried, is there?"  
  
"No," he replies with a smile. Trying hard _not_ to look impatient _or_ over his teacher's shoulder, he keeps his tone steady as he says, "I came because--"  
  
_"--Hikaru-sensei!"  
  
_Houka comes barreling towards him, engulfing him in a bodily hug. "How are you? Did you miss us? Are you back here for good?"  
  
He tries not to feel uncomfortable as he wrenches away from her. _"Of course_ I missed everyone! I was feeling a bit nostalgic and that's why--"   
  
The front gate opens, and he turns in time to see _her_ coming in, bags of groceries in hand--  
  
\--followed soon after by a man he doesn't know.  
  
But they were both laughing brilliantly _together_.  
  
His explanation to Houka soon dies in his throat.  
  
She then looks to the doorway, and he can tell the exact moment she lays eyes on him--  
  
\--because _that's_ the exact moment she lost all color.  
  
"H-Hikaru-sensei?" she whispers.  
  
"Urara," he says - because that's all he _can_ say, at that moment.  
  
"Urara-chan?" the unknown man says, looking at her - then at him - then right back at her. "Are you alright?"  
  
"I--" she says. "I--"  
  
Blagel places a hand on his shoulder, making him look _away_ from her - from _them_. "Let's all head inside, shall we?"  
  
  
  
**9.** A wedding.  
  
The Ozus are planning to hold a wedding _tomorrow_.  
  
Their explanations fly right above his head, and he keeps his best looking interested at everything Houka is saying while she's clinging to his arm like a vine.  
  
The siblings circle around him, chiding him for not saying goodbye to them - _twice.  
  
_He laughs and apologizes at the face of their rebuke.  
  
Except he notices they are not complete - for _she_ has flown straight into the kitchen, and refuses to come out of it.  
  
And that... that unknown man - her _lover_ \- is right there with her, perhaps comforting her.   
  
Offering her solace.  
  
The very thought makes him ill.  
  
He knows he has no right to feel.... _this_. This awful emotion that's curling deep inside his veins and making him grit his teeth even as he keeps up the pretense of _smiling._  
  
Had he been gone too long? Is he too late? He comes back to the Surface World, only to find her about to be married to _someone else?_  
  
Then again, what right had he to complain? Hadn't he once thought that it was best _not_ to get attached?  
  
Isn't it her right to find love somewhere else?  
  
Seems like he's wrong in returning to the Surface World, after all.  
  
_"Hikaru-sensei!"_ Houka complains with a pout. "You're not listening!"  
  
"I apologize," he replies, looking at the giddy faces around him. "I--"  
  
Then Miyuki-san nudges his arm, offers him the empty coffee pitcher, and asks, "Would you be so kind as to get us a refill from the kitchen, Hikaru-san?"  
  
  
**  
10.** Sungel stands outside the kitchen door for so long, it almost feels as though he's become rooted to the spot.  
  
He'd rushed in to fight N Ma before - but the thought of facing _her_ now fills him with more trepidation than ever.  
  
What would he see, if he comes in? Her being in her lover's arms, perhaps? Maybe they're--  
  
Then the man himself comes out of the kitchen. "Oh," he says, blinking. "Hey, you. Do you need something from the kitchen?"  
  
He seems kind, this man. At least he _should_ be, Sungel thinks unkindly, if he'sto marry her. If he isn't--  
  
"No, I'll--" He lifts the coffee pitcher. "I'll do it, myself."  
  
"Okiedokie!" the man says, patting his shoulder. Then off he goes, hollering, _"Hou-chan--!"_   
  
Sungel takes a deep breath - and plunges right in.  
  
He finds her facing the oven. A wonderful scent wafts around him, making him remember her apple pie - and that fateful afternoon. Summoning his courage, he says with forced cheer, "Mm. Something smells _really_ good in here, Urara."  
  
He sees her back stiffen - and regrets ever opening his mouth.  
  
"Anyway," he says, "I'll just... get the coffee Miyuki-san requested and--"  
  
"--leave?" she asks softly.  
  
Then she turns to face him and says, "I hope this time you'll say goodbye to everyone before you do."  
  
Sungel sighs. Placing the coffee pitcher near the sink, he links his hands behind him and says, "I _am_ sorry for leaving the way I did. Back then I thought it would make things easier for everyone involved."  
  
"And--" She bites her lip. "Was it?"  
  
"...No."  
  
She stares at him with that soulful expression of hers, and he feels compelled to explain: "The first time I left, I did so because... I had a vision. Of N Ma defeating me in battle. Of me _dying_ , as a result." Absently, he feels the need to scratch the place N Ma's weapon had cut him - but doesn't. "I had wanted all of you to be spared from knowing _that_ , at least."  
  
_"Why?"_ she cries. "We could have helped you! We could have--"  
  
He shakes his head. "It wouldn't have done anything. My visions, rare as they are, always come to pass." After a pause, he adds, "And this one did."  
  
"Then... then how about _after_ we defeated N Ma?" she says, taking a step forward. " _After_ you were revived. I thought-- I thought--"  
  
He turns to face the sink. "You no longer needed me," he replies simply. "You have your parents, your siblings--"  
  
"That's not true," she tells him, sounding closer now. He feels his sleeve getting tugged, and glances down to find her hand around it. "Hikaru-sensei, I think... I... I'll _always_ need you."   
  
He reaches for her hand, intending to remove her hold on him - except his palm closes over hers as he quietly says, "That's no longer true, is it? Not when you're getting married tomorrow."  
  
Her silence, he thinks, is damnation all on its own.  
  
Then she says, "--what?"  
  
"Maybe my timing _is_ perfect," Sungel says, turning to face her fully. As if mocking himself, he doesn't let go of her hand as he adds, "At least now, I can properly bid you goodbye before you--"  
  
_"What_ are you talking about, Hikaru-sensei?" she asks, frowning up at him and looking absolutely bewildered. _"I'm_ not getting married tomorrow!"  
  
He blinks at her.  
  
Then blinks some more, for good measure. "But... you were... that man--"  
  
"Shunsuke-san?" she says, her eyes wide. "He's _Houka-chan's_ fiance! He just accompanied me to the grocery earlier because he wanted to learn how to make her favorite food from me!"   
  
...Well.  
  
_Well._  
  
Peering at him, she asks, "You really assumed _I'm_ the one--?"   
  
"I--" He scratches the back of his head, feeling foolish and uncouth and all in between. "I was--"  
  
She reaches up - and playfully tugs both his cheeks.   
  
_Hard._  
  
_"That's_ for thinking I'll _ever_ marry someone I don't like!" she scolds him.   
  
Rubbing at them and wincing, he says, "I guess I deserve that."   
  
Her chin up, she goes back to face the oven. Checking its contents, she says, "Besides, I'm still waiting for the one I _actually_ like." Not looking at him now, she adds, "Turns out he was right all along. I _did_ end up liking him, at some point. It just so happened I kissed him first."  
  
He stares at her.  
  
The one she--  
  
"Urara," he says, almost unwilling to trust his own voice. "Are you--"  
  
"Ah mou, Hikaru-sensei! _Just ask her out already!"_  
  
_"Shh!_ Onii-chan--"  
  
"Quiet, you!"  
  
"Ugh, you ruined _everything--"_  
  
A bit of scuffling can be heard outside the kitchen - leaving him with no doubt as to who and _where_ their apparent audience were.  
  
From her spot in front of the oven, however, she looks absolutely mortified at having her siblings spy on her in the kitchen yet _again_.  
  
Whereas he--  
  
\--is just filled with overflowing _happiness_ at the turn of events today.  
  
Smiling now, he takes her hand in his and says, "Forgive me, but I don't really know _how_ I should ask you out, Urara." He then draws her closer to him - until he's hugging her. "Perhaps... you can teach me?"  
  
She burrows deeper into his chest and sighs, "Yes. Yes, I will."  
  
  
  
**bonus.** He watches Houka walk down the aisle, looking radiant and happy - and he can't help but smile as the bride's gaze meets his.   
  
"Houka-chan looks _so_ beautiful," Urara cries from beside him.  
  
Chuckling a bit, he takes her hand in his. "To be honest, though, I think you'll look even lovelier than her," he says, "when it's _our_ turn to get married."  
  
She blinks at him. "Our--"  
  
He smiles at her.  
_  
Urara.  
  
I want you to be my wife._

But that wish, he thinks, is for another day.


End file.
